Millions of individuals engage in the donning of socks as part of a daily dressing routine. Socks are routinely worn by individuals with a variety of shoes. In donning such articles of clothing, the individual must perform tasks such as but not limited to bending of the knee and flexing downward at the waist in order to don the socks. While this type of maneuver is not a challenge for a typical individual, those individuals with decreased mobility due to circumstances such as pregnancy, arthritis or obesity can be significantly challenged by such maneuvers.
For those who are either temporarily or permanently incapacitated, the maneuvers required to don socks can often require assistance from another individual. Many individuals however, do not have home healthcare assistance or live by themselves and assistance with such tasks is unavailable and the individual must perform the task of donning socks by themselves. While there is existing technology that provides assistance with the task of donning socks, current devices fail to provide good results in several areas.
One problem with existing technology is the stress placed on the opening of the sock. Devices often stretch the opening of the sock such that the elasticity of the sock is substantially diminished which results in disposal of the sock as the sock will not maintain its desired position on the calf of the user due to the lost elasticity. Another issue with current devices is that they are generally inflexible. The inflexibility of the devices often leads to discomfort to the user while trying to manipulate a rigid device around an approximately ninety degree turn of their heel. Additionally, current devices are not shaped appropriately so as to receive a foot and place the foot proximate the opening of the sock. Many existing devices are semicircular and do not accommodate feet of different widths and possess a shape that facilitates an easier transition of the foot into the sock opening.
Accordingly, there is a need for a sock donning apparatus that facilitates the application of a sock to an individual's foot wherein the individual suffers from reduced mobility that does not diminish the elasticity of the sock and further promotes an improved application process of the sock onto the foot.